This is just an average. There are plenty of people who take more time for their smoke break and then take their scheduled breaks as well. Long meetings and training sessions often have to be broken up, as the real addicts can't concentrate if they don't get a fix. This has a tendency to upset the flow.We should note that they bring a terrible smell back to the office!One more thing: it kills you in the most horrible way!

Firstly I would like to point out that not too many smokers would take and hour of extra breaks for their habit. This is a bold and very extreme statement that I would like to see the research for, determine where this article was based. I would think a number of people are missing certain facts. In some industries there is an allowance of 40 minutes per day morning and afternoon especially where you get an unpaid lunch for people that they are legally entitled to take as part of Australian law. Also it is and should be a personal choice for people to smoke, and yes there are a number of smoking related diseases that can be very unpleasant for the sufferer but anyone could get hit by a bus tomorrow, have a or have a nasty or debilitating accident, and there are plenty of non-smoking related diseases. A number of things that are enjoyable in life is apparently meant to be bad for you fatty food, alcohol, smoking etc. I think what a number of people fail to realise is the ENORMOUS revenue generated in government taxes from tobacco product sales .This money contributes and goes a long way towards hospitals, schools, orphanages, wildlife conservation, public transport, outreach programs and a number of other programs and activities that are in place to look after Australians and make sure we get the best care and best start in whatever we do.

If you look at the bigger picture the funds generated are nearly 10 times any potential burden on the health service from smoking related diseases. And if everyone in Australia quite smoking tomorrow who do you think would feel the repercussions of this revenue loss and a substantial tax hike? I guarantee it would be the non-smokers who would feel the pinch more. Smokers are used to paying for cigarettes on a regular basis anyway with any tax increase to cover a short fall in tax revenue, this would just be like money we are currently (blowing) paying for cigarettes. But tax increases on the non-smokers would be deemed unfair to them and an extra expense as they are not used to paying excess on tobacco. I am certain that non-smokers would not like to be paying more money because people don’t smoke anymore!! The most aggressive forms of Cancer are not linked to smoking and everyday people who eat healthy, exercise, do everything in their power to live what is supposed to be a healthy lifestyle and don’t smoke are told that they are seriously ill. There is always two sides to every argument and I understand that smoking is not ideal, but before certain people decide to make accusations to how much money smokers cost business they should stop and think. The amount of people who have jobs, decent health care and access to all the things we take for granted.

I'm not a smoker, however what about the plethora of people wasting far more time on social media each day ( while hidden from view), while others text all day long? We certainly have a number of those in our office and they're the first to jump on the habits of smokers.... (probably some of the above comments come from those - such as mine as well)...

I agree with CA. I think "smoke breaks" are no different to going to the kitchen, getting a coffee, or leaving your desk to have a 5-minute break from the computer screen. All forms of "break-outs" should be in moderation. The fact that the smoker needs to go outside to have their "break-out" shouldn't be held against them.

When I was an admin assistant I had a supervisor who took a cigarette break every hour like clockwork. I decided this was my personal internet time and surfed the net from the moment she walked out the door until she returned. Why should she get more breaks than me just because I chose not to smoke?